Proof of magic and miracles

The other day, I was walking down the street daydreaming about something I’d like to happen when my Inner Voice of Doom decided that it was time to wake from its slumber and tell me all the reasons why this dream wouldn’t, shouldn’t and couldn’t ever come true.

As I carried on walking my shoulders began to sag and my heels began to drag. My Inner Voice of Doom tends to have this effect on me but I still haven’t learned how to shut it up, after years and years of trying. 

But then something unexpected happened. Another thought came to me - and it was way more positive.

You need to remember that good things do happen, and the world is a wonderful place, the thought said. You need to find proof of magic and miracles.

A second later I caught a waft of the most beautiful scent on the warm summer breeze and I followed my nose over to a rose bush, where I took the time to really look at one of the flowers and stroke its velvety petals. Surely something that looked and felt and smelled so incredible was proof right there of magic and miracles.

My Inner Voice of Doom huffed and puffed but it finally shut up and I continued on my way with a spring in my step. In fact, I felt so much happier that I decided to make it my mission to seek out further proof that the world is full of magic and miracles and therefore, dreams like mine (and yours too) have every chance of coming true.

The following day I went to the cinema. It had been a while since I’d been, and as I settled into my seat, bucket of popcorn on lap, I gazed up at the screen and remembered how much I used to love losing myself in a film. And I thought of how magical it is that we’re able to become fully absorbed into the world of a movie, so much so that we can feel weirdly disorientated when we step back outside into the real world.

The next day, when I was sorting through some stuff in preparation for moving away, I came across a couple of pages of my handwriting saying things that didn’t really make any sense. Things like: ‘I saw a Titanic exhibition at the museum … It’s nice down at the waterfront …Like the woman in Fawlty Towers …I wonder what he did with his wheelbarrow when he got to the pub!’ 

What the hell had I been on when I wrote this, was my first thought. But then it all came flooding back. 

I’d written these random notes last summer, when I went to visit my former partner (and forever friend) in hospital. He’d just had a major life-saving cancer op and was in critical care. When he struggled to hear what I was saying I came up with the idea of writing my half of our conversation on pages torn from my notepad.

As I smiled at the memory I realised I’d found more proof of magic and miracles -both in the fact that such life-saving surgery is now possible, and in my beloved friend’s subsequent recovery.

And today, when I went out for a walk in between writing sessions, I discovered an air show going on by the beach. As I stopped to watch my mouth fell open in awe at the aerial acrobatics on display. Five planes looped and soared in front of me, looking as if they were just inches apart. How they kept their perfect formation and didn’t clip each other’s wings was a miracle indeed, and yet more proof of life’s magic.

Obviously, we have no guarantee that our dreams will come true, but my fun experiment this week has shown me that if you seek out proof of magic and miracles, you start to believe in a benevolent universe, and how can that ever be a bad thing?

I hope this week’s Wonderstruck inspires you to seek out your own proof of magic and miracles and I’d love it if you posted an example of your own in the comments.

What is something magical that has happened to you? What do you see as being an everyday miracle? I’d love to know.

Until next week…

Siobhan